Conference sessions, meetings, lectures, and other interactive forums invariably involve presentation materials such as text and graphics on a common display medium such as a projector screen. Traditional presentations have included so-called “slide shows,” consisting of optical transparencies illuminated by a projector onto a display medium. Current computing technology has enabled software applications for developing media slides, and specialized projectors capable of accepting the video output signal from a PC or laptop and projecting directly onto the display medium. The proliferation of laptops and handheld computers allows a presenter to develop a presentation on a laptop, for example, and present from the laptop by connecting directly to the projector at the conference site.
Often, a particular conference or meeting has several presenters, each with a laptop and corresponding presentation. Physically connecting and disconnecting each presenter's laptop to the projection apparatus can be a clumsy and disruptive process, particularly since the presenters may be seated at various locations around the room. Further, physically moving the projector around the room can have adverse effects on the presentation, due to presenter movement, uneven lighting, and projection angles. Consolidation of the multiple presentations onto a single machine requires advance coordination between the presenters, compatibility between presentation formats, and raises security concerns because of the need to interconnect the different machines.